Ever find it funny that people celebrate the New Moon at night? Why is that funny? Because the New Moon happens every month (every 29.5 days, actually) when the Moon crosses between the Earth and Sun. This means the New Moon is right next to the Sun so it might be better celebrated during the daytime when it's in your sky. Regardless, New Moon nights make for amazing naked-eye astronomy because, of course, there's no moonlight.

I work with the Lunar Cycle by setting attention at New Moon. The idea is that the seed of attention will be illuminated by the Full Moon two weeks later. This New Moon in Cancer will be illuminated by the Full Moon in Aquarius on July 22nd so I set my attention around Cancer seeds and Aquarius illumination. This month's were a little too private to share, but the general idea was explore and surrender to the emotional depths that need nurturing (Cancer) so I can further expand my consciousness and realize a new way of being (Aquarius). Anyone else in the midst of emotional throwdown right now? If you are, seek comfort in knowing you're right on track, that this discomfort will bring opportunity for healing and growth, and that it's about to get easier.

In this first Solar System Scope image, you'll see the Moon directly between Earth and Sun so the side of the Moon facing Earth is entirely in shadow and the "dark side" of the moon is entirely illuminated in sunlight. Turns out the dark side of the moon isn't always dark... it just never faces Earth. That's another story.

Notice also that Mercury is directly between Earth and Sun. The exact Sun-Mercury Conjunction actually occurred today (7/9/13) around noon PST. I guess we could call this New Mercury and it means we're exactly halfway through the current three week Mercury Retrograde cycle. Seems like a good time to talk about Retrogrades.

What the heck does it mean for a planet to go retrograde? If you track a planet during typical direct motion, the planet will appear further east along the ecliptic (path of Sun and Planets outlined by the constellations of the Zodiac) every night. Then something funky happens... the planet seems to be parked in the exact same place for a few days before it starts moving "backwards," appearing further west every night. What happened? This means the planet has gone retrograde, which means... well, first let's look at some pictures of Mercury's recent travels.

Click on the images to make them bigger. The first image is from 6.1.13 when Mercury was just to the west of the Twins. In the second image, Mercury has moved all the way to the west of the Twins by 6.26.13 when it stationed retrograde and started moving back to the west. The third image is from today 7.9.13 when Mercury reached conjunction with the Sun, now near the center of the Twins and still heading west.

The first of these three images is of 7.20.13 when Mercury will station direct and start heading east again. The second image is of 8.1.13 when Mercury will have made its way back to the Eastern side of the Twins where it was before it stationed retrograde. The third image is of 8.19.13 when Mercury's direct motion will have brought it all the way east to the constellation of the Crab.

That's the apparent motion of 80 days of Mercury from Earth. Now let's take a look at those same six dates from space:

Planetary Retrograde Motion is an optical illusion. A good metaphor is that of passing a car on the highway. Even though both cars are moving in the same direction, as you approach the car you're passing it appears to slow down then appears to be moving backwards as you pass. This illusion also holds when a car passes you. A better metaphor is passing a car or being passed by a car on a circular racetrack. Mercury is currently passing Earth in our respective tracks around the Sun. Today, we are dead even.

In the second solar system image above, Mercury is beginning to pass Earth. This is the beginning of the Mercury Retrograde cycle. In the third image, Mercury has reached conjunction with the Sun. That's today (7/9/13). This means Mercury is exactly between Earth and Sun in what I call New Mercury position. In the fourth image, Mercury's pass is complete and it "stations direct" in the sky or appears to be moving naturally, west to east again.

Do Planetary Retrograde cycles really have psychological influence over us? My beliefs are more in line with the idea that planets reflect our internal processes according to the Hermetic wisdom, "As Above, So Below; As Within, So Without." Regardless, if there is indeed a physical mechanism for planetary psychological effects, be it gravitational, electromechanical, or by some force we have not yet "discovered," it would probably make sense that such effects are amplified when the planets are closest to earth. A retrograde cycles occurs when Earth is closest to the planet that appears to be moving backwards.

Mercury orbits the Sun every 88 days, but because we're also orbiting the Sun, it takes about 116 days for Mercury to return to the same position in the Zodiac as seen from Earth. This means Mercury passes Earth 365/116 = 3.15 times annually so we have three Mercury Retrograde cycles every year, each lasting about three weeks. This year, the Mercury Retrograde cycles happen in the water signs. 2/23-3/17 was in Pisces, the current cycle 6/26-7/20 is in Cancer, and the final cycle 10/21-11/10 will be in Scorpio.

If we celebrate New Moons by setting attention, why not celebrate New Mercury in similar fashion? One of the unique gifts of Shamanic Astrology is its teaching around how to work with the Synodic Cycles of Mercury, Venus, and Mars. It would take a whole lot of writing to detail this here and I can't give away our secrets :), but I will tell you that Mercury is currently undergoing it's Pisces synthesis and metamorphosis to Cancer.

It's a time to set attention around your thinking function (Mercury). Allow yourself to continue looking into the watery depths of your emotions. Set your attention around nurturing (Cancer) the many past wounds (Pisces) that have been called to your awareness since February. Set your attention around birthing (Cancer) the many dreams (Pisces) you have dreamt. Perhaps the one will lead to the other.

From the Pressurized Waters of the Deep,Astrolonautwww.MoreThanAstrology.com

Find the big dipper. That's the one. Follow the curve of the handle (also known as the tail of the Bear) through space to a big ass, yellow star. Can't miss it. That's Arcturus. Now drop your gaze relatively straight down. You'll find a pair of bright lights. The red one on the left is Saturn. The white one on the right is Spica, the brightest star of Virgo. Or the Virgin, rather... the Constellations no longer agree with the signs and won't for another 22,000 years due to the Precession of the Equinoxes, but I better not start babbling about that just yet.

Saturn looks to be in Virgo, but sHe's actually in Scorpio. That's one of the reasons things have been crazy since 10/2012. Don't worry, that'll only last until 9/2015 ;)